


Pyro

by calmdowncolb



Series: The Conductor [3]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Ghosts, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Paranormal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Abilities, Supernatural Elements, Telekinesis, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:35:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calmdowncolb/pseuds/calmdowncolb
Summary: Seth had never believed in fate, but something bigger than himself dropped him onto Finn's doorstep. Now with a second chance at life, and at love, he tries to find his own gifts and powers, while searching for answers to a deeper and darker secret.
Relationships: Finn Balor | Prince Devitt/Seth Rollins | Tyler Black
Series: The Conductor [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1095393
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	Pyro

**Author's Note:**

> **This is under indefinite hiatus**( I do not think anyone is interested anymore, including myself.) 
> 
> Strongly, highly, majorly recommend reading 'Voyager' beforehand! Otherwise you'll probably be a little confused.

As anxious as Seth was; he was focused. Something about his entire life as he knew it being threatened to change on a hinge put him into an almost meditative state. He felt his heart pound, heavy and unruly in his chest, while the rest of him felt at risk of floating away. 

And as careless, reckless and hopeless as Dean was; he was thoughtful. Nothing helped Seth sort his shit out better than the scream-y hard rock that he clung to so tightly. He could never admit that he listened to every word his friend said, but he could show evidence of it every so often. 

Seth paced back and forth in Dean’s bedroom, head bobbing along to the music that blared from the brand new speaker system acquired from Dean’s appointment money. 

The first album he bought - Seth’s favorite - A Day To Remember’s _Homesick_. 

“This is great!” Dean said, just barely audible over the music. He was relaxing in bed, shirtless, greasy hair strategically framing his face.

“I’m gonna be a brother-in-law!” 

“Don’t be so sure just yet.” Seth snarled. Dean acted oblivious and offered over a cigarette. 

“I don’t know why you’re bein’ a lil bitch about this.” Dean chuckled, turning the volume knob down the littlest bit as he lit his and Seth’s cigarettes. 

Seth rolled his eyes and took a drag, encircling his confused head in a halo of smoke. 

“Everyone is taking this so lightly! I feel fucking insane.” Seth sighed and coughed dramatically. “I just like… I’dunno.” 

“Speak your mind!” Dean said triumphantly. 

Seth huffed and sighed, which was really his second language at this point. 

“Come on, ya fucking loser, what’s up.” Dean coaxed.

Seth rolled his eyes and took another drag. “I just really thought that I was gonna marry… someone else, y’know?” 

Dean’s brow furrowed. “You… Wait, really?” 

Seth hung his head, but he couldn’t tell if it was from shame, embarassment or depression. Maybe all three. 

“Yeah, I uh…” He continued hesitantly. “I thought that… me and _him_....thought we were gonna make it.”

“Oh, Sethie Boy…” Dean sat up a bit straighter. “I could’a told ya that it wasn’t endgame, dude.”

Seth shrugged. “I’m sure I wouldn’t accept it.”

“Well.” Dean continued, “Y’know, the plus side? You didn’t look unhappy. From what I saw.”

Dean smirked his stupid fucking smirk as he concluded. 

“What?” Seth asked. 

That stupid face with those fucking dimples was never made without reason. 

Dean smirked a little harder and puffed a big cloud of smoke in Seth’s direction. 

“Dude, I swear to god I’ll kill you right now.” Seth deadpanned. “What is up with you?” 

Dean sighed and crossed his arms. Seth could feel his own face reddening from frustration. 

“I told you I wasn’t gonna ruin the surprise.” Dean said, now grinning victoriously. 

Seth’s nostrils flared and without warning, he leapt onto the bed and began landing half-playful but also half-infuriated punches all over Dean.

“You saw that I was gonna get _married_ and you didn’t tell me?!” He yelled, but was luckily still muffled by the music.

“Hey! Ow, fuck! H-hey, you hit hard!” Dean squirmed under the flight of punches, holding his cigarette hand away from Seth’s attack. 

Seth relented for a moment and straddled Dean’s hips so he couldn’t get away - still holding a cocked fist by his cheek, just in case. 

“If I had told you what I saw, you would’a stolen a car and tucked tail. No one would have ever heard from you again! I couldn’t risk it, okay, fuck mouth?!” Dean said, voice heightening. 

Seth lowered his fist and scowled. 

“Alright.”

It was pretty rarely that Dean said something truthful and it fucking sucked when he did. 

“I didn’t even know if I what I saw was reality or a dream, okay? That happens sometimes.” Dean said defensively. “Now get the fuck off me before you get hard.” 

“You wish.” Seth scoffed and climbed off. “What did you call me? ‘Fuck mouth’?” 

“That’s what you are.” Dean grumbled and re-lit his cigarette. 

Seth, defeated, with his face falling into a pout, curled into a cross-legged position on the floor. 

“So that’s it, then?” He asked. “This is the right thing for me?” 

Dean shrugged. “I only know what happens, dude, I don’t know nothin’ about right or wrong.” 

“Clearly.” Seth whispered. 

“I will say - for what it’s worth,” Dean said, rubbing his forehead as he spoke. “You didn’t look miserable.” 

Seth frowned. “He… He thinks we’re boyfriends right now.” 

“Let him.” Dean said, pressing two fingers into his temple. 

“He gave me a massage.” Seth admitted, one eyebrow raising as he did. 

“Did you fuck?” Dean asked, voice cracking a little. He was clearly experiencing some kind of discomfort all of a sudden, making Seth wonder if he had accidentally punched him in the head. 

“No! We didn’t fuck, is that all you care about? But it was weird, I uh… when we woke up I could like-” Seth said, still hesitant at first but softening when Dean grimaced. “Dude, are you okay?” 

“Yeah I uh…” Dean started, but trailed off and finished his cigarette before he could continue.

Over the music, Dean and Seth both heard the clattering and shattering of dishes and glass from below. Seth jumped and whipped the bedroom door open, looking for some sort of enemy or danger around. 

He wasn’t sure which thing came first, or which was scarier to encounter: 

Coming from the same place as the banging and breaking - the kitchen - Seth heard what was unmistakenably Finn, screaming. 

Dean slumped out of the bed and hit the floor, hard. Seth watched, frozen in place in the doorway, as his eyes glazed over before fading away to a milky white. 

Another shriek of agony from the kitchen kickstarted Seth’s feet out of the room, through the hallway and down the stairs. 

“Leave me alone!” Finn yelled, and Seth paused for a second before he realized he was not the subject of the request.

Finn was on the kitchen floor, curled up small, clutching his head with his fingers stuck firmly into his ears, as if to drown something out. But besides the rumbling from Seth’s music upstairs and the odd bird chirp outside, the kitchen was completely quiet. Finn was surrounded by a moat of broken glass and discarded food, some of which was still steaming hot. Everything had been knocked off of the counters. 

“Finn!” Seth exclaimed; but Finn did not budge. 

“Baby boy, look at me!” Seth started carefully tip-toeing around the glass shards, eyes switching between Finn and the mine-field of a floor.

Once Seth was close enough, he snatched a handful of the collar of Finn’s cardigan and attempted to yank him up. Normally, Finn’s small frame could have been easy to pull, but right now he was folded up so tightly, it felt more like moving a boulder for Seth. 

“Baby boy, I don’t know what the fuck is happening but you gotta move, let’s go!” Seth shreiked against the calm quiet of his surroundings. 

Finn was weighed down to the floor. Now desperate for Finn and worried about Dean, Seth knelt amongst the trashed kitchen floor and snaked his arm around Finn’s ribs. Forcefully now, but not enough to hurt him, Seth pulled Finn up from his feet and into a bridal carry. 

The sarcastic side of Seth’s brain did not lose sight of the irony of the situation, but didn’t have time to make a joke before Finn snapped out of his psychosis. 

“Seth!” Finn choked out. “Seth, someone’s here!” 

Seth got them out of the kitchen and back upstairs in record time, and Finn was babbling about some sort of invasion the entire way. It was a miracle that Seth could carry him with the way that his nerves bounced and made his entire body feel unsteady. Pure adrenaline fueled him now and he stumbled into the bedroom.

Dean had rolled onto his back, eyes still whited out, mouth agape and unmoving. 

“You have to find Aleister!” Finn said, tapping Seth’s chest until he was placed back onto his feet. 

Not intentionally, Seth ignored Finn and dropped to his knees to check if Dean was okay. 

“Deano!” Seth cupped his friend’s face and shook it lightly. “Come on, asshole, snap out of it!” 

“Seth, I’m serious, something has to be done!” Finn yelled, hands wrapped up in his hair.

“Not without Dean!” Seth growled, and running low on ideas, planted a firm backhanded slap onto Dean’s unguarded cheek. His head snapped back; eyes lolling around without purpose or direction. Seth felt his own stomach turning over as Dean was unable to react.

“Wake up, you son of a bitch!” Seth snarled, shaking Dean a little harder. 

“I’ll stay here with him.” Finn started, frantically dipping in and out of the open door. “But you must go now! Aleister is in trouble, I can hear something! He’s-he’s-he’s in pain!” 

“And where exactly is he, huh?!” Seth yelled back. “Where am I supposed to go?!”

He turned his attention back to Dean before the guilt set in over raising his voice. As if on cue, Dean’s limbs stiffened up as he came back to planet earth. His eyes dropped back into the sockets, bleary and crossed. 

“Fuck… Seth.” 

“Wake up, buddy, come on, come on!” Seth whispered urgently. 

“Seth, he’s… hospital… ambush… fuckin’...” 

“Hang on, c’mere, sit up.” Seth helped Dean upright as Finn paced and picked his own cuticles bloody. “Something’s happening, Deano, what did you see, come on.” 

While Dean caught his breath, Seth avoided looking at the panicked mess that was possibly his soon-to-be-fiancee. 

Here he was again: An architect amongst psychics. Except this time he was the only one seemingly in his right mind. He pushed through the prevalent anxiety and listened close as Dean grumbled out what was almost a sentence.

“Seth, your brother, we… They were attacked.” Dean coughed out, holding his head. 

“Yes!” Finn exclaimed, falling to Dean’s side along with Seth. “What happened, Dean, I can’t see anything!”

“Dunno… where they are… exactly.” Dean grunted. “There’s a hospital… with a McDonald’s across... the street…that’s counter-productive.” 

“Does that sound familiar?” Seth asked Finn, who instantly looked like he was near tears. 

“I don’t know, I never leave, um…” 

“Fuck, Dean, can you give me more?” Seth said, now pushing and pulling on his friend to get him to his feet. 

“I can.” Dean sighed exhaustedly. “I just need some time.”

“Finn, get the car started, any car.” Seth directed.

“Wha-no! You have to go! I-I can’t go, I can’t leave here, I-” Finn stammered; the pure portrait of devastation. “I can’t leave here, you know that!”

“No no no. Listen. You listen to _me_.” Seth said sternly. He took a steadying breath and held a hand out to raise Finn. Now that both psychics were on their wobbly feet, he left Dean alone to lean against the door and pulled Finn in close.

“I can’t do this without you. And I don’t give a fuck who or what tries to get into this house. I don’t care what the fuck is out there. Nothing and I mean absolutely _goddamn nothing_ is gonna hurt you when I’m here.”

Finn bit his quivering lip to silence his own whines as Seth helped him upright. 

“You hear me, huh? Nothing. Fucking nothing! Nothing is gonna hurt you, or even look at you the wrong way while I’m around. Over my _dead fucking body_ is anything gonna hurt you.” 

Finn nodded and swallowed away as much of the lasting anxiety as possible. 

“They’re gonna have to kill me to get to you, okay? And that ain’t happening either.” Seth lowered his tone and cupped a trembling hand on Finn’s cheek. “Now listen to me, baby boy. Shit is going crazy and we’ve gotta go find the guys. I can’t do this without you. This is all fucked, okay, but if you are with me, you are safe. You got that?” 

Finn choked out, “Yes.” 

Seth shot Dean a nervous glance, then pulled Finn in for a fleeting and hasty kiss. 

“You’re gonna be fine, you got that?” He whispered. “I’m sorry for yelling. But this is it, okay? It’s time to make some moves.” 

Finn covered Seth’s hand with his own and agreed. 

As a team, they scurried down the stairs, flying by the mess in the kitchen. Dean relied on the walls as he followed, panting and wheezing. 

Finn heard the ever-present flurry whirling around his head, a tornado of voices. His eyes blurred from the overwhelming shrieks, leaving only a vague outline of the front door that Seth was pulling him towards. 

“Let’s go!” Screamed his knight, once again. 

Finn reached for the now opened door and commanded his feet to follow. Just as he breached the doorway and stepped into the light of day, everything snapped. 

Silence.

* * *

“God, why is everything in this fucking state a hill?!” Dean said. His eyes were squeezed shut as he searched for Aleister, for Roman, for some glimpse of a clue or landmark to distinguish where they were going. 

Seth was driving, one hand on the wheel, one hand on Finn’s leg. Dean stretched his long legs out in the backseat, eyes covered by one hand, cigarette in the other.

There was silence.

The life that Finn was accustomed to- the anxiety and panic that was associated with leaving his home- seemed to have melted away. The voices that bombarded and attacked his brain were silent. He looked to the clamped grip that Seth had taken on his thigh. 

This was some sort of miracle. 

Inside the house, an unfamiliar voice screamed for Finn’s attention. 

Now outside, the only thing he could hear was the tires on asphalt and Dean’s profanity-sprinkled sentences. 

He couldn’t recall ever hearing everyday noises so clearly before. There were birds. Glimpses of strangers’ conversations could be heard from sidewalks at streetlights. Dean wheezed when he breathed and Finn had never been able to notice. 

Where are the voices? Where had they gone? 

“A hospital, Deano? That’s what you said, right? Focus on that!” Seth instructed, whipping around this and that corner, determined to locate anything that even resembled a hospital. 

“I’m tryin’, homie!” Dean barked. “I need some help, baby boy!” 

Finn flinched in the passenger seat, hating the way his pet name sounded through Dean’s smoke-filled voice. 

Seth felt his muscles twitching under his hand. 

“Come on, baby, you can help Dean, yeah?” Seth asked, trying to keep his voice as low and intimate as possible. 

“I’m trying.” Finn squeaked. “But there’s something very strange happen-”

“Hold my hand, brother!” Dean thrust a big paw over Finn’s shoulder, grasping down and holding. Finn gasped as Dean was thrust into his psyche, without warning. 

The blurry, vague image Dean was holding onto was wiped away to reveal a clearer, more defined image. Roman’s car. Aleister inside with him. Blood. They were driving, turning a corner. Dean tried to see what corner they turned. Where the fuck were they going?

Finn took hold of Dean’s hand and sure enough, the miracle of silence was too good to be true. The tires and commotion of the busy streets were replaced by the sounds of snapping jaws and familiar pained shrieks. Car horns blared. A dwindling heartbeat. 

Finn gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to throw Dean’s hand away and cower. 

He had to try.

Seth believed in him. 

Seth was going to protect him. 

Finn closed his eyes and gave as much power as he could over to Dean; clarifying his visions and heightening his gift. 

Dean gasped as the something was made clear: _Lowell General Hospital_!

“Lowell! Seth, they’re in Lowell!” Dean said, laughing. 

Seth had been continuing straight off of the main road from the house, but at Dean’s command, swerved the vehicle into a hard left to merge into the oncoming freeway.

Dean, as if looking through other-dimensional binoculars, followed the street leading to the hospital backwards, to where Roman’s irratic driving had been before. He watched as the streets connected, forming a path for Seth to follow, so long as he followed it in reverse. 

“We got this, baby boy!” He said, squeezing Finn’s shoulder.

“Don’t… Don’t call him that.” Seth gave Dean a sidelong glare. 

Dean and Finn’s teamwork proved effective and within the confines of an extremely tense hour, Seth was pulling up on the fabled hospital. The vehicle’s wheels entered the parking lot and Finn flinched hard. 

“They’re here!” Finn choked out, releasing Dean’s hand. 

“Let’s go get ‘em!” Dean howled and began to exit the vehicle before Seth had stopped it. He slammed into the nearest parking space, unbothered by the premise of fitting into lines or respecting other drivers. 

The three scrambled out of the car and ran towards the building for about twelve seconds before Finn stopped sharp and dug his heels into the pavement. Seth tripped over himself and looked back, crazed. 

“Hey! Let’s go!” Seth said, summoning Finn over. 

Finn’s feet did not budge; nor did the look of terror plastered on his face.

“Hey, come on!” Seth almost tripped over himself, stepping backwards to collect his paralyzed companion. 

Finn looked as though he wanted to speak, mouth opening and closing and failing to make sound. He instead shook his head crazily. 

Seth looked over his shoulder and found that Dean was already long gone; no doubt on the hunt for Roman inside. 

“Seth, I don’t know what’s in there.” Finn mumbled; words falling frantically from his lips. 

“Our family is in there.” Seth affirmed, almost proud of himself for using the term that his housemates preferred. 

Finn huffed, eyes dead focused on the building, making it something ominous and evil. 

For him, it was exactly that. He knew that from the inside, spirits would scream and wail for explanations that would not come. Many of them were trapped; he knew this. Trapped and unsure of why they were there. Trapped and surrounded by nothingness. Trapped by white walls. 

Finn really hated white walls.

He whimpered and planted his sneakered feet to the pavement. His temples pounded from the connection he had with Dean. The silence had come back, but the peace it initially came with was long gone.

“Seth, you don’t...” Finn sniffled. “You don’t get it. There’s death in there.” 

Seth paused for a second. His head switched back and forth from the hospital, to the devastated face before him. Thinking as quickly as possible, Seth took Finn’s chin in hand and guided his stare to himself. 

“Look.” He started, then mentally reprimanded himself for being harsh when Finn flinched. 

“Uh… hey.” He started again. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too, okay?” 

“Seth, it’s not ‘scared’ it’s all the voices and-” 

“I know!” Seth cut him off before he could get into a panic. “I mean, I don’t know but… But just think about me, okay? I’m gonna be right next to you, and if shit gets crazy, just… just hold my hand, huh? I’ll be right there.” 

Seth nodded as he spoke. As nice as the sentiment was, he could feel his patience and his sanity draining from his body.

Finn’s lower lip quivered. 

“Just think about last night, if you need to.” Seth suggested, throwing another look over his shoulder. 

Finn forced his head to nod his agreeance, but Seth saw through it. 

“It was one of the best nights of my life…” Seth softened again, even dared to open his arms to offer a hug. “If not _the_ best.” 

Finn fell into place, with his head pressed against Seth’s chest. Last night felt ages old after the events of today. With eyes closed tightly, he made himself think about his fingers in Seth’s hair, wet kisses and tangled limbs. His ears rang almost loud enough to chatter his teeth but he squeezed Seth as tight as possible and tried to focus. He tried to think positive. 

It was like trying to put a demolished building back together with duct tape.

“Come on… Please? I know it’s gonna be rough.” Seth said. “But we gotta.”

Finn sighed, “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Brie had been called ahead of time and assured that her and Adam were on their way.

Good thing too, as Seth and Dean had been spending their time in the hospital cooridoor outside Roman’s room, pacing and sighing while Finn quietly kept himself together. They had been banned from entering while he was “resting” and were told only that Aleister was in surgery. 

Nothing more. 

Seth’s eyes were transfixed on the popcorn ceiling, making shapes and patterns out of nothing. Vaguely, he could hear another courtroom judge show starting up, but after hour 5 of waiting, sounds and words had begun to blend and mesh together. He could feel Finn’s hand in his, and the occasional tensing and releasing as his partner experienced an attack from the surrounding ghosts and spirits and whatever other spooky nonsense inhabited this space. 

Dean was hunched over beside him, leaning forward so his fair hair concealed his face. Seth pretended to not notice when Dean had been sniffling and quickly swiping at his eyes. He figured that one of them had to cry for Roman’s behalf, and Seth just didn’t have the energy at this point. 

Orderlies and employees passed by, some having the audacity to whistle or mutter or step too loudly. Surely a decent amount of people had their questions about the motley crew sitting along the wall, or even just the overwhelming cigarette smoke smell that peaked after Dean went “to the can” every half hour. 

Seth would have been happy to see Brie and Adam storming into the cooridoor - _Jesus, they got here faster than fucking possible._ But their faces were stern and creased; stoic, until Adam caught sight of Finn’s slumped over body. 

Ignorant thus far, Finn practically leapt from his chair and into Brie’s embrace. She closed her eyes and held him tight, whispering and apologizing. 

Neither of them noticed the ball of rage that was formerly Adam as he charged Seth’s seat and grabbed a fistful of tee shirt. 

“Have you lost your goddamn mind?!” Adam asked between a clenched jaw. 

Seth was jolted awake by the aggression, eyes now wide and questioning. He stood and shoved Adam away. 

“What’s wrong with you?” He barked, earning a few turned heads. 

“Why would you bring him here?” Adam asked. “Are you insane? Get him out of here!” 

“He’s worried about his dad, dude, are _you_ insane?” Seth turned it back around, purely out of shock at this point. Yes, Finn was having a hard time dealing with everything today, but he had held his own, almost without assistance. The new title for Aleister had slipped from his mouth with no effort, as weird as it may have sounded. 

“Hey, we’re as stressed as you are, bud.” Dean said, gravelly as ever. 

“Adam, I’ve been here the whole time, it’s fine, I-” Finn piped up, disconnected from the safety that is Brie. 

“Nonono.” Adam waved Finn’s words away. “I will take care of everything, okay. You get him out of here.” 

Finn stepped forward, arm extended, and tried to argue. 

“Adam, I don’t need help, I really don’t. I’ve been okay.” He said. His fingers merely brushed Adam’s exposed forearm before he was twisted up and backed into a wall. Adam had a firm grip on Finn’s wrist in no time. 

“No fucking way, kid.” Adam said, index finger pointed right below Finn’s eye. “Do not try and bullshit a bullshitter, okay. You’re not using my own schtick against me.” 

Seth tore Adam away from Finn as Dean stood up too. Seth really wasn’t prepared for another fight today. Not here, not in this fucking hallway. 

“Have you ever considered for a moment-” Adam paused, bringing his face as close as possible to Seth’s.

“What you would do if someone here recognized him?” Adam spat out finally. 

Seth’s brow furrowed. “Wha… What does it matter if-” 

“Take him.” Adam pointed to Finn. 

“And go.” Adam pointed to the ‘EXIT’ sign. 

Seth’s mouth snapped shut and he glanced over his shoulder at Deano. 

Dean’s lips were tight, eyes red-rimmed from tears and impossible to read. 

“I’ll hold it down here, brother.” He said. 

Seth sighed and made his way towards the door, holding a hand out for Finn to join him. It wasn’t without hesitation, but Finn went along anyway. There were now even more questions than before in their heads.

* * *

“I guess maybe it would cause a bit of a scene.” Finn muttered. His hand slipped away from the seatbelt he was clutching and over to Seth’s thigh. The muscles were tight and stressed. 

Seth kept to himself, eyes pressed to the road and unmoving. 

_If he was recognized?_ No one had even asked any of them if they wanted a water bottle while they had been sitting there for 5 long hours. _How could he be so angry? Or scared? What the fuck is wrong with him?_

Finn was talking, still. Seth knew he was. He could hear the rumble of Finn’s deep voice beside him; could feel the phantom presence of a hand on his body. 

It was always these times. Always these taxing, pressurized times that the thoughts came to his head. The classic intrusions that dared to show themselves. 

_Fuck, I miss you._ Seth thought, then reacted with a shudder from his own subconscious. It was when times got bad that he longed for… _him_. 

It made no logical sense, and he knew that. How could he miss someone who treated him so poorly? Hell, his broken knuckle from that last beatdown never healed correctly. It still clicked whenever Seth made a fist. What a fitting souvenir. 

_I miss you and it fucking sucks. Fuck you. Fuck this._ Seth gripped the steering wheel harder. 

“Seth?” 

_Did he disconnect his number for real?_ Seth had tried the old cell a handful of times already, discreetly, when no one was around and he was supposed to be asleep. 

“Seth, did you hear me?” 

The thoughts ceased and slammed Seth back into reality, like his stomping of the brakes at a red light that snuck up on them. 

“Whassup?” Seth turned over to Finn, causing a crack in his neck. 

Finn’s face was concerned, but nothing could outweigh the love in his eyes. 

“I said that I appreciate you sticking up for me. Again.” Finn chuckled. 

“Oh. Hah. No problem, baby boy.” Seth said, kicking himself for being so obviously out of the loop. He took another fleeting glance. Finn didn’t mind that he was being distant. Finn didn’t seem to mind anything at all when they were together. Seth held in a sigh. 

_He’s still not you._

The 45-minute drive passed like nothing. Seth drove the car over the massive hill and the goth mansion was visible in the near distance. He parked haphazardly and they went inside, greeted by an army of cats, as usual. 

Finn went straight to the kitchen to clean up the mess of glass and food he had left. 

Seth invited himself to crash onto the couch, plopping down and running his hands over his face. He gave himself a profanity-littered pep talk about keeping his thoughts at bay. Sounds of Finn from downstairs made their way to his ears, and he was greeted with a different thought. Dean’s voice: 

“_You didn’t look miserable._” 

Fuck. 

Once again, reality found him. When Aleister was all patched up or healed, Seth owed him. 

Finn was speaking to a cat downstairs when Seth lurched his exhausted body upward. He still didn’t entirely agree with the whole plan. And Finn was left in the dark, knowing nothing about it. Aleister said he didn’t need to tell him. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. 

This is happening.

Seth creeped his way towards the stairs. 

Back at the hospital, he had told Finn to be strong. He told him to remember last night, in all of its glory. Truth be told, last night was the first time in a long time that Seth hadn’t been overwhelmed with thoughts of _him_ and their history. It was the first time in perhaps his entire life that he had been with someone who wholly and completely wanted the best for him. Dare he assume, Finn loved him? 

He wanted to think so. 

And now, and he decended the stairs, one at a time, he realized that they were alone in the house tonight: something that Aleister wasn’t able to protest to. They were alone and they could have the conversation that Finn deserved to hear. Honest, and frank, and optimistic. 

Seth reached the dining room where Finn was forcing a rolled-up sleeping cat off of a sweater on the table. With each step, he recited what he was going to open with. ‘_Hey sweetheart_’ or ‘_Hello, my love_’ were both good choices. 

Right as he darkened the doorway, Finn’s beaming smile and crinkled eyes took his breath away. Fuck, _he_ never looked at me like that. _He_ never did anything nice for me! 

“I’m so happy we’re home.” Finn said simply. 

Seth stomach rumbled and threatened to burst, resulting in him spitting out the least romantic thing anyone had ever heard: 

“HEY, uh, we should get married!” 

Fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> Almost a full calendar year that this went without updates. 
> 
> Is anybody out there, still? 
> 
> For a bit of background: One month after the last chapter of Voyager was posted, my life was ripped away from me as I encountered a trauma that I'm still struggling to work past. It took away my ability to write, and it wasn't until very recently that even looking at my notebooks hurt to do. 
> 
> But I am so deeply in love with this story and I want to tell it even if no one reads. 
> 
> We'll see how we go from here. I'm hopeful. 
> 
> Thank you for giving this the time of day.


End file.
